January 2002

EDTECH
Judge Tosses Microsoft Schools Settlement (NYT)

BROADCASTING/CABLE
Cash, With Strings, for Documentaries (NYT)

E-GOVERNMENT
OMB Gets First Chief Technology Officer (WP)

EDTECH

JUDGE TOSSES MICROSOFT SCHOOLS SETTLEMENT
Issue: Edtech/Antitrust
A federal judge in Baltimore on Friday rejected a controversial settlement
that would have ended more than 100 private class-action lawsuits against
Microsoft, dealing the software maker its second legal setback in less than
a week. In his 21-page ruling, U.S. District Judge J. Fredrick Motz agreed
with opponents that the proposed deal in the antitrust cases would itself be
anti-competitive. Under terms of the proposal, Microsoft would have given $1
billion in money, software, services and training to about 12,500
underprivileged public schools. The company also would have given about one
million Windows licenses for refurbished PCs donated to the schools. The
judge concluded that the level of funding for the schools and for a private
foundation to administer the donations was insufficient, a shortfall that
was "more acutely problematic when viewed in the context of the proposed
settlement's potential adverse impact on competition."
[SOURCE: CNet, AUTHOR: Joe Wilcox]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-8440321.html?tag=tp_pr)

BROADCASTING/CABLE

CASH, WITH STRINGS, FOR DOCUMENTARIES
Issue: Broadcasting/Cable
Ten of the 16 documentaries competing this year at the Sundance Film
Festival in Park City, Utah, were produced by either HBO or PBS. But not
all documentary makers want to accept the conditions attached to network
financing, which often includes executive involvement and keeping the film
60 minutes long and giving up the chance of theatrical release. It can be
difficult, however, for directors who choose to go it alone. Those
filmmakers who do not get money from HBO or public television, can spend
years cobbling together grants or putting together co-productions with
European broadcasters. While other cable companies and foundations finance
big-budget feature-length documentaries, that number has shrunk over the
last 10 years as the number of projects seeking financing has grown..
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Beth Pinsker]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/14/business/media/14DOCU.html)
(requires registration)

E-GOVERNMENT

OMB GETS FIRST CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
Issue: E-Government
The Office of Management and Budget got new technology muscle this month
with the addition of Norman Lorentz, a former U.S. Postal Service. One of
Forman's major tasks is overseeing 23 e-government initiatives that will use
technology to improve citizen services. Lorentz will act as the federal
government's chief e-government architect, leading multiple technical
efforts to define, implement and maintain key elements of strategic
e-government architecture,
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Gail Repsher Emery]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/govtit/14625-1.html)

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COPYRIGHT
Napster Launches Test of New Secure Service (WP)
Feds Nix Pact On Net Radio Stations (CNET)

EDTECH
Maine Students Hit the IBooks (WIRED)

CABLE
MTV and Showtime Plan Cable Channel for Gay Viewers (NYT)

COPYRIGHT

NAPSTER LAUNCHES TEST OF NEW SECURE SERVICE
Issue: Copyright
Today, Napster will be launching a test version of its new service which
prevents the unauthorized sharing of copyrighted files-a feature which made
the original service popular among users but hated by the recording industry
which sued it for copyright infringement. Napster's beta trial will include
over 100,000 files that are currently licensed to the company for free by
the mostly small, independent labels. The beta test will be free, but the
full version, should the relaunch take place, will cost somewhere between $5
and $10 for 50 downloads per month. The new version of Napster will offer
two types of files: standard MP3 music files and ".nap" files, which Napster
founder Shawn Fanning said were essentially MP3's with a protective layer
that prevent the files from being copied off the host computer or burned
onto CDs.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Ben Berkowitz (Reuters)]
(http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,49624,00.html)

FEDS NIX PACT ON NET RADIO STATIONS
Issue: Copyright
The Copyright Office has rejected a deal Wednesday between broadcasters and
the Recording Industry Association of America to pay for music used online.
Terms of the settlement, which was reached in December, had been kept
secret. Federal regulators blocked deal that would have set royalty terms
for radio-station broadcasts put online. Webcasters, or Web sites that
stream music online but are not associated with a traditional broadcast
radio station, are required to pay royalties for use of music under the
terms of a 1998 copyright law.
[SOURCE: CNet, AUTHOR: John Borland]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8424478.html?tag=mn_hd)

EDTECH

MAINE STUDENTS HIT THE IBOOKS
Issue: EdTech
The state recently signed a four-year, $37.2 million contract with the
computer company to equip all seventh- and eighth-grade students and
teachers in the state with laptops. It's believed to be the largest
educational technology purchase by a state. "I think we're going to
demonstrate the power of one-to-one computer access that's going to
transform education," said Governor Angus King. "The economic future will
belong to the technologically adept." Under the plan, all seventh-grade
students and teachers in the state will use the portable, wireless Apple
iBooks laptops starting in fall 2002. The contract includes the installation
of a wireless network infrastructure in all 241 middle schools, ongoing help
desk support and maintenance, and professional development. Maine chose the
company despite some reported problems in Apple's last significant education
deal, in Henrico County, Virginia, where Apple rolled out 23,000 iBooks this
fall. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, during a visit from Maine
representatives, students at Godwin High School in Henrico County complained
that the computers are a distraction and hinder, rather than help, learning.
"It's basically a $1,200 CD player and a Game Boy," said one student. Maine
educators feel confidant that they can overcome the problems encountered in
Henrico.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,49046,00.html)

CABLE

MTV AND SHOWTIME PLAN CABLE CHANNEL FOR GAY VIEWERS
Issue: Cable
Looking to take advantage of what they say is a large and lucrative niche
audience untapped by television programmers, two cable divisions of Viacom,
MTV Networks and Showtime, are developing a plan to create the first cable
channel aimed directly at gay viewers. The channel would be offered to cable
system operators as a pay channel like HBO or Showtime, but less costly --
at $5 or $6 a month -- and also include advertising. The presence of gay
characters on television, both on cable channels and the broadcast networks,
has increased in recent years in shows like NBC's `'Will and Grace" and
Showtime's "Queer As Folk." But the proposed gay channel would take that
trend to a new level.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/10/business/media/10CABL.html)
(requires registration)

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
Computers for the People in Brazil
Charities Say No to Obsolete Crap (WIRED)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
D.C. Plays a Little Lobby Music (WIRED)

ANTITRUST
Microsoft Spurned On Its Request For Delay In Penalty Hearing (WP)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

COMPUTERS FOR THE PEOPLE IN BRAZIL
Issue: Digital Divide
Brazilian television personality and finance tycoon Silvio Santos is helping
to bridge the digital divide in his country by promoting a package offered
by Brazil's computer industry, which includes a PC, printer and software
with a cost subsidized by the hardware and software companies involved.
Despite subsidized programs like this one, the biggest obstacle to rising
computer sales in Brazil is still household income. According to a study by
the Brazilian Electronics Industry Association, 15 million Brazilian
households are interested in having a computer, but they can only afford a
monthly payment, including the price of Internet service, of $25. Cassio
Fernandes Augusto, commercial director of Brazilian computer manufacturer
Metron, said monthly payments that low could be reached only if the
government lowered interest rates and increased incentives for international
producers of chips and other components to set up shop locally. He said he
hoped such steps might be in the offing, as politicians seek popular
programs before the presidential election in October.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jennifer L. Rich]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/07/technology/07METR.html)
(requires registration)

CHARITIES SAY NO TO OBSOLETE CRAP
Issue: Nonprofits
In the United States alone, 53 million desktop computers are expected to
become obsolete, according to an oft-cited 1999 report by the National
Safety Council. While 80 percent of discarded computers head straight to
landfill, some are donated to charities, which are becoming more particular
about what they will and won't accept. In three years, computers donated to
Goodwill Industries have spiked from 50,000 per year to 150,000. Those that
can't be sold in stores or used in the company's technology centers have to
be disposed of, at a cost to the organization. "Every dollar we spend on
disposing of unusable donations is a dollar we don't have to spend on our
career and other support services," said Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, a
spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries International. Even nonprofits in
developing nations are turning away donated computers. Bill Threlkeld,
administrator of the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Native Lands, used to
funnel donated computers to offices of nonprofits in the poor countries that
his organization advocates on behalf of. But in recent years, he's found
they're not interested. Figuring out what to do with donated equipment is
one piece in the larger puzzle of bringing nonprofits into the technological
era. Nonprofit technology organizations such as NPower and Compumentor are
expanding to meet growing demand for affordable software, consulting and
related costs in the sector.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Jenn Shreve]
(http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,49537,00.html)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

D.C. PLAYS A LITTLE LOBBY MUSIC
Issue: Intellectual Property
About 200 music executives, artists and lawyers gathered at Georgetown
University this week for the second Future of Music conference. In a speech
that opened the two-day conference, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Virginia) said he
wanted to rewrite the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act. That's
the 1998 law that handed Dmitri Sklyarov an unexpected trip to federal jail
and spurred a lawsuit brought by the movie studios against a DVD-copying
utility. "I'm very concerned about the DMCA," Boucher said. "There's an
increasing number of instances in which unjust results are reached."
Boucher, however, may not be in a position to do much about it, with
Republicans ruling the House of Representatives. And while Boucher sits on
the right subcommittee, he's only the third-most-senior Democrat and his
Democratic counterparts in the Senate oppose him.
[SOURCE: Wired. AUTHOR: Brian Krebs (Newsbytes.com)]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49520,00.html)

ANTITRUST

MICROSOFT SPURNED ON ITS REQUEST FOR DELAY IN PENALTY HEARING
Issue: Antitrust
Hearings to determine a punishment for Microsoft's antitrust violations will
go forward as scheduled in March, a federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting
Microsoft's request for a four-month delay. U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly, who again showed her intent to move the process forward
quickly, will consider two important questions about the way the software
giant operates in the future: whether the settlement reached by Microsoft,
the Department of Justice and nine states is in the public interest, and
whether a different, tougher remedy proposed by nine other states should be
imposed on Microsoft. Kollar-Kotelly said she would hold a brief hearing in
February to review progress in the case, with the first hearing on the
proposed remedies scheduled for March 11.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Kristi Heim]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/depth/ms010802.htm)

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INTERNET
Rise of Internet 'Borders' Prompts Fears for Web's Future (WP)

JOURNALISM
Moves by Fox and CNN Signal a New Push for New Audiences (NYT)
Trolling the Web for Afghan Dead (WIRED)

SPECTRUM
Wireless Phone, Radio Clash Up in the Air (WP)

INTERNET

RISE OF INTERNET 'BORDERS' PROMPTS FEARS FOR WEB'S FUTURE
Issue: Internet
Governments and private businesses are increasingly try to draw boundaries
around what used to be a borderless Internet to deal with legal, commercial
and terrorism concerns. "It used to be that a person sitting in one place
could get or send information anywhere in the world," said Jack Goldsmith, a
professor of international law at the University of Chicago. "But now the
Internet is starting to act more like real space with all its limitations."
While new borders provide solutions to the vexing problem of how to resolve
the often-conflicting policies of the roughly 200 independent states of the
world on matters such as gambling, commerce, copyright and speech, critics
fear that the barriers will create an Internet that's balkanized. And civil
rights groups warn that freedom of speech will suffer, that the technology
will make it easier for oppressive governments to stifle nonconformist
viewpoints, and that people's privacy will be eroded, especially because
some technologies can pinpoint one's location.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ariana Eunjung Cha]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59227-2002Jan3.html)

JOURNALISM

MOVES BY FOX AND CNN SIGNAL A NEW PUSH FOR NEW AUDIENCES
Issue: Journalism
The increasingly fractious competition between CNN and Fox News seems to be
driving recent programming decisions. The conservative Fox News network has
hired Geraldo Rivera, a defender of Bill Clinton's, to be a war
correspondent, while CNN hired the conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg.
Both networks appear to be pushing to broaden their audiences by bringing in
different personalities with different points of view. Fox has made great
strides in closing the ratings gap with CNN in the last year. Erik Sorenson,
the president of MSNBC, observed that Fox has been moving away a bit from
being a conservative political outlet. "They're more like the World
Wrestling Federation of news networks now," he said. "With all the big
graphics and noise they make, though, they do get out there and cover the
news now as well."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/04/business/media/04FOX.html)
(requires registration)

TROLLING THE WEB FOR AFGHAN DEAD
Issue: Internet
Frustrated by the dearth of reports in the American media after the air
strikes began on Oct. 7, an American economics professor turned to the
Internet to read accounts from the front lines published in the foreign
press. Marc Herold, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, has been
searching the Internet for the last three month to compile figures on
civilian casualties in Afghanistan, using sources as disparate as the
radical Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan and the BBC.
Herold's analysis, published on the independent news site cursor.org charges
that the U.S. military has killed more than 4,000 civilians in Afghanistan.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Julia Scheeres]
(http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,49475,00.html)

SPECTRUM

WIRELESS PHONE, RADIO CLASH UP IN THE AIR
Issue: Spectrum
Satellite radio and wireless phone companies are battling before the Federal
Communications Commission over restrictions that could limit the power of
the satellite radio companies' land-based repeater towers. Wireless
companies, including Verizon and BellSouth want the FCC to force D.C.-based
XM Satellite Radio and its New York-based rival, Sirius Satellite Radio, to
replace their powerful repeater towers, which they say could interfere with
customers' broadband connections and with pagers and phones still in
development. The satellite radio companies contend that the limits are
needlessly expensive. The FCC also asked for comments on a proposal to
impose an 18-month freeze on the deployment of additional repeaters, which
XM said in its filing "would be devastating to the industry." Satellite
radio is still in its infancy, and XM and Sirius said they need to quickly
react to any gaps they find in their network as they add customers.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Renae Merle]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/14448-1.html)

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